Historic Profile: The Lake Harriet Trolley, "1300," and the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line together are the last working examples of the once extensive public transportation system in Minneapolis. Once extending as far as downtown Saint Paul, the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line became inoperable after 1954 when the streetcar system was converted into buses. To date, the restored trolleys run on one-half mile of the original route just to the west of Lake Harriet. Passengers board the car from an original platform at the intersection of West 42 nd Street and Queen Avenue South. The trolley was built in April 1908 with a yellow body with brown trim above the floor line, forest green below, and Tuscan red roof and widow sashes. The Como Interurban – Harriet, which originally ran from Lake Harriet in Minneapolis to the Ryan Hotel in St. Paul, opened for use on July 1, 1898. The tracks at Lake Harriet had been in use since 1884; first for horse and then for electric cars after 1891. Eventually, the line was extended to the shores of Lake Minnetonka fourteen miles to the west, providing public transportation to popular recreation areas and aiding the development of the western suburbs. The remaining trolley and tracks at Lake Harriet are the most important link from the past leading toward a transportation model for the future.

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